


Dry Dock

by ourladyofmumbles



Category: The Expanse (TV), The Expanse Series - James S. A. Corey
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-19 00:21:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11301867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ourladyofmumbles/pseuds/ourladyofmumbles
Summary: “Imagine Alex and Holden discussing open space and the freedom that a ship like The Roci can give them.”





	Dry Dock

The hallways of Tycho were empty, as they always were between rotations. Holden’s inner clock wasn’t yet used to the time schedule they kept on the station, and although he was supposed to be sleeping, he found himself wandering the halls with a coffee in hand. Without thinking about it, his feet brought him down the familiar passages and hallways to the observation deck. The  _Roci’s_  hull spun in slow motion on the screens before him, the lights of welder’s torches glowing like fireflies in the black of space. The furthest panel had a list of engineers on shift and an approximate progress of the repairs.

“Those pirates sure did a number on her, didn’t they hoss?” Holden jumped a little at the sound of a familiar drawl. He turned to see Alex standing beside him, his own bulb in hand. The Martian gave a low chuckle “poor baby. We gotta stop treatin’ her like this.” Holden nodded and took another sip of coffee. They’d gotten hit pretty hard the last few months. It seemed they spent just as much time in repairs as they did on the  _Roci._

“It’s been a rough few months, Alex. If it wasn’t for you, she’d be scrap metal by now. And god knows where we’d be.” 

“Aww, cap’n. You’re making me blush.” Alex replied with a shake of his head, and Holden chuckled. They stood in silence for a while, watching their ship spinning on the monitors and drinking their coffee. It was the sort of comfortable silence that developed after years of shipping out with someone. Holden couldn’t say he knew Alex terribly well, but he could enjoy the rare moments of peace with him.

“Y’know… I never really thought it would be like this…” Alex said, breaking the silence. Holden frowned, turning to face him

“Like what?” he said, finishing his coffee. Alex shrugged and looked down at his bulb. 

“Like this. Out in space, with a ship of my own. Things’re different on Mars. There’s a sorta routine you gotta follow, a lifestyle they drive inta ya growin’ up.” He signed and took another drag of coffee. “I always thought I’d do what everyone else was doin’, you know? Grow up, ship out for a tour or two, come back, get married, and spend the rest of my life working t’wards the terraforming project. And well…. I love Mars, but… after doing my tours, the thought of being stuck in those tunnels forever, of makin’ my kids do the same, I just felt… trapped.” He finished, staring at his shoes. “Aw, hell, I’m ramblin’, ain’t I?”

Holden shook his head with a sad smile. “No, I get it. I was the only child of 8 parents that raised me to inherit the farm. I loved my family and I loved that farm but… it never felt right to me. It’s hard to make a choice when you only have one option.” He looked back up at the  _Roci_ , wondering why he had said all that out loud. He didn’t hide his past from his crew, but it also wasn’t something he liked to dwell on. Alex chuckled.

“Look at us now. An Earther and a Duster runnin’ from our destinies an’ making a go at our own freedom.” He gave Holden a goofy grin. “Shit, it’s almost poetic.” Holden chuckled, and the monitor before him began to flash: the rotation was ending. Soon the halls would be full of engineers and workers running to eat or sleep before their next shift. 

“C’mon Alex, we’d better get out of the way.”


End file.
